The largest student-led movement for global health

What are Brigades?

Groups of passionate volunteers who mobilize toward positive social change.

Global Brigades coordinates skill-based 1-3 week brigades to Honduras, Panama, and Ghana. Each of these programs meet an aspect of our holistic model to strengthen the health and economic development of communities. Volunteers can join a brigade through a Global Brigades chapter on their university campus, start their own chapter, or participate as a small group.

Salales

Overview

Medical

Dental

Water

Business

Public Health

Overview

Salales is located in the dry corridor of north-central Nicaragua in the department of Leon. A typical house is made of cement block. The community has access to a local health center within the community and a multigrade primary school. 50 students attend the primary school with three teachers and four classrooms. The primary school goes up to grade 6. There is also a secondary school located in Salales, which goes up to grade 12. The secondary school has five teachers with five classrooms, that serve 70 students. Most people in the community work as agricultural laborers and cattle farmers.

Global Brigades is currently working with the Medical Program in Salales and has been since the first Medical Brigade in April 2015. In their communication with Global Brigades, the top three needs expressed are lack of latrines or properly functioning latrines, as well as lack of concrete floors in the home. Instead, approximately 60% of homes have earth floors. Lastly, the community has poor water drainage, resulting in flooding on agriculture plots. Salales is on the waitlist for continuing Holistic Model implementation as part of Global Brigades’ strategic plan in Nicaragua.

Municipality: El Sauce

Department: Leon

Homes : 200

Population : 870

Water System : Yes

Community Bank : No

Electricity : Yes

Health Center : Yes

Community Health Workers : No

% of Homes with Latrines : 50%

Education : Up to 12th Grade

Distance from Lodging Facility : 2.5 hr

Medical

Program Status

Planning

Active

Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS:

Healthcare access in Nicaragua is structured by the Ministry of Health, based in the capital, Managua. From there, each of the fifteen departments has it’s own department hospital, which is overseen by the SILAIS administrations (Sistema Local de Atención Integral en Salud). At a municipality level, there is a health center (Centro de Salud) for every municipality within the department. While they are not hospitals, health centers in the municipality are typically staffed with one doctor, and two nurses, that can attend patients with chronic, communicable, or noncommunicable diseases, as well as pregnancies. They however, do not have the ability to perform surgeries. Lastly, most but not all communities have a Puesto de Salud, a smaller health center. These health centers are usually staffed with only one nurse and a rotating physician. Physicians are staffed in these health centers by Nicaragua’s Social Service. This is an initiative that requires Nicaraguan medical students to do two years of service in rural communities prior to graduating. The physician density in Nicaragua is approximately 1,099 people for every one doctor. According to the World Health Organization, there should be a maximum of 435 people per physician to qualify a country as having adequate access to medical attention. This density is significantly lower for the 40.6% of the population that lives in rural areas. It is for this reason that Nicaragua’s Social Service initiative brings medical students to these communities. However, access remains limited since these training physicians may be assigned to up to fifteen communities at a time.

Salales has access to a health center within their community. Even with this access, it is important to note that medications, supplies, and materials are often not available in these health centers and are dependent on government funding. There is no access to private pharmacies. Additionally, as noted above, access to trained medical professionals is limited.

During their initial communications with Global Brigades, the top three illnesses in children that Salales expressed are diarrheal diseases, common cold, and pneumonia. For adults, common illnesses are kidney infections, vaginal infections, diarrheal diseases, and skin allergies. Without access to trained healthcare professionals and medications, chronic diseases can go unmanaged, leading to further health problems. Acute illnesses can also be severe and affect the quality of life.

176

Brigade Volunteers

3203

Patient Consultations

69

Pap Smears Performed

61

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER:

Salales does not currently have any Community Health Workers. Community Health Workers, or Brigadistas de Salud, are trained by the Ministry of Health and work on a volunteer basis as advocates for healthcare within their communities. They are tasked with treating and preventing common illnesses, and some of their responsibilities include first aid, supporting and caring for pregnancies and newborns, and responding to emergency situations. They are also responsible for following up with chronic patients to ensure proper administration of medications and treatments to avoid further complications. Global Brigades is planning to establish a partnership with Salales and the Ministry of Health, and is looking forward to providing Community Health Workers (once trained) with blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, glucometers, and first aid kits, to facilitate more impactful work. The presence of these volunteers and their advocacy for health within their community contributes to the sustainability of healthcare supported by Global Brigades’ Medical Program and is one of the most impactful disease prevention strategies in rural communities.

BRIGADE INFORMATION:

Community members from Salales attend Medical Brigades in the health center and community school of Salales. This locations have rooms for triage, consultation, dentistry and pharmacy stations. The average amount of patients seen per day is 288 patients.

Salales offers strong support on Medical Brigades from the community volunteers. One way the 8-15 community volunteers assist is by running intake. Intake is the very first station of the clinic and is where the community volunteers write down the patient’s name, date of birth, community, and identification number. Additionally, community volunteers manage clinic organization. They set up tables and chairs in the clinic prior to the brigade’s arrival as well as direct patients to the next medical station, once the clinic has opened for the day. Lastly, community volunteers lead adult health education sessions on sanitation and hygiene, chronic diseases, contraception, Women’s health, and water purification. Salales’s community volunteers are essential the efficiency and effectiveness of Medical Brigades.

Dental

Program Status

Planning

Active

Complete

DENTAL CARE ACCESS:

While medical access is low, dental access is even more sparing. Dental services are not available within the community health centers, or even the municipality health centers. Instead, if a patient was needing dental care, they would be required to travel to one of the country’s fifteen department hospitals. This could be up to a 2-3 hour bus ride, with many needing to first walk or horseback ride to the bus stop.

490

Patients Consultations

464

Flouride Treatments

624

Fillings Performed

104

Dental Education Workshops

BRIGADE INFORMATION:

Working closely with the Medical Program, the Dental Program provides fillings, extractions, and fluoride treatments as a standard part of medical brigades. Community members from Salales attend Dental Brigades in the health center and community school of Salales. The average amount of patients seen per day is 31 patients, with approximately 10-15 minutes per patient.

Salales offers strong support on Dental Brigades from the community volunteers. One way the 8-15 community volunteers assist is by running intake. Intake is the very first station of the clinic and is where the community volunteers write down the patient’s name, date of birth, community, and identification number. Additionally, community volunteers manage clinic organization. They set up tables and chairs in the clinic prior to the brigade’s arrival as well as direct patients to the next medical station, once the clinic has opened for the day. Lastly, community volunteers lead adult health education sessions on oral health and hygiene. Salales’s community volunteers are essential the efficiency and effectiveness of Dental Brigades.

Water

Program Status

Planning

Active

Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Salales but has not yet begun with the Water Program. Now in the planning phase, the financing, delivery, and installation of a water system infrastructure, or repairs to existing infrastructure will start as soon as feasible.

Water System : Yes

Type of Water System : Mixed- Water tank with pump

% of Homes with Access to Water : 80%

Water Council : Yes

Business

Program Status

Planning

Active

Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Salales but has not yet begun with the Business Program. In the planning phase, local staff is working with community members to assess the economic needs of the community, establish a community bank, and identify micro-enterprises that can benefit from on-brigade consultations.

Community Bank : No

Community Bank Members : No

Economic Activities : Agriculture, Cattle raising

Existing Microenterprises : No

Public Health

Program Status

Planning

Active

Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Salales but has not yet begun with the Public Health Program. Now in the planning phase, the financing, delivery, and installation of household health infrastructure products will start as soon as feasible.

% of Homes with Latrines : 50%

% of Homes with Showers : 10%

% of Homes with Washing Station : 8%

Common House Materials : Cement Block

Local Reference Points

View the map to see the closest volunteer lodging facilities, hospitals, and other relevant points of reference.